- Replace your HVAC air filters regularly. If you don’t, a thick film of dirt builds up and prevents air from flowing through them. Not only does this require extra energy from your HVAC system to push it through, it also reduces the efficiency of the filter, allowing pollutants to get through.
- Check to see that your central vacuum system and clothes dryer are expelling their dirty air outside of your home.
- Have UV lamps installed in your home by an HVAC professional. They are germicidal devices that eliminate living particles like mold, bacteria and viruses when they come into contact with the UV light. In fact, they are so effective at stopping the spread of disease that they are commonly found in hospitals.
- Don’t allow your bathroom or kitchen fans to circulate dirty air through your house. Upgrade to exhaust fans that usher dirty air outside.
- Keep potentially hazardous chemical compounds stored outside of your home, so that chemical fumes don't get sucked into your air intakes.
- Make sure you properly vent all secondary heat sources like chimneys.
- When working indoors with volatile organic compound (VOC) chemicals, make sure your work area is heavily ventilated with fans and open windows.
- Have the venting system for your gas heating equipment inspected to ensure that it's properly vented to the outside.
- Don’t install major HVAC components in parts of your house that have a lot of debris coming in on a regular basis, like your garage. If it is too late to prevent this, seal up that area and your HVAC equipment with things like weatherstripping or extra insulation.
- Avoid using unvented combustion sources, such as barbecues or candles, indoors.
To learn more about how to make improvements to your indoor air quality or for help implementing any of these clean-air strategies, contact Rodenhiser Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning today. We have served Massachusetts for more than 80 years.
Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about indoor air quality and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Solutions Guide.
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